The Haryana Police Sunday arrested two key accused in the case, including an army man, who kept changing their hideouts when they were on the run.
The 19-year-old girl who was gang-raped on September 12 in Rewari of Haryana is still battling for her life in the district hospital. On September 19, the girl and an ex-CBSE topper would have appeared for a central government entrance examination for which she had been preparing for a long time now. Instead, the survivor now lies on a hospital bed.
As per a report on Indian Express, the girl was preparing for the exam for months and had joined a coaching centre to help her study for the competitive exam.
The girl was abducted and gang-raped on September 12 while she was on her way to a coaching class. The newspaper reported that the fees of the coaching centre, Rs 5,400, was more than her father's monthly income and he took tuition on the side to fund his daughter's education.
The girl's uncle told the national daily that every morning, the survivor would accompany her father on the school bus and get dropped at the bus stop near the coaching centre. Around 2.30 pm, on her way back, she would again take the school bus. She was trying to save on the bus fare.
Speaking to Indian Express, the girl's father said, "She didn’t attend college. After her coaching class, she would come home and study. She wanted to get a job and we encouraged her. We never made her do household chores. She understood that we were not well off and wanted to help us."
"My children’s education was my investment. I knew my daughter would excel at whatever she did. But now she has missed her exam and I don’t know how long she will be in hospital… Now there is nothing left,” he added.
The Haryana Police's Special Investigating Team (SIT) on Sunday arrested the two main accused, Pankaj and Manish. Both were on the run for 11 days after the rape. They were arrested from Satnali in Mahendragarh district.
Earlier, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) had announced the arrest of the third accused, Nishu and two other men -- Deendayal, the owner of a tubewell room where the crime took place in Mahendragarh, and Sanjeev Kumar, a medical practitioner who had treated the victim.
Both Deendayal and Sanjeev were booked as they did not inform police despite knowing about the crime.
The police had earlier announced a reward of Rs one lakh for providing information on the absconding main accused, all residents of Kanina village.
The victim, who has identified her attackers, and her parents had earlier accused the police of not taking action and dealing with the matter casually.
She alleged that her attackers gave her sedative-laced water to drink and gang raped her in a room on an agricultural field till she fell unconscious. They later dumped her at a bus stop near her village.
(With PTI inputs)